Maws Christmas Essentials

December 13 2017

When it comes to festive catering we believe it’s the wealth of details that transform a Christmas celebrations into a truly memorable occasions, which is why Maws are at the ready with a whole goody-bag of essentials to help.

Our shelves are stocked with pre-made ingredients full of the flavours that make the season special. So whether you’re making canapés or cakes, stuffing or soufflés, we’ve got the necessities at a scale and price that should deliver more than a little Christmas cheer.

Puff and Shortcrust Pastry

Great pastry is must at Christmas, but these days the time-consuming, labour-intensive process of making it isn’t. Maws are delighted to stock some of the very best, as anyone familiar with the premium Belgian pastry brand Maitre Andre will know, including commercial quantities of their puff pastry. Available fresh in chilled 4.2kg rolls as well as frozen in 57cmx37cm sheets, it’s perfect for creating hassle-free desserts, the humble yet ever-popular vol-au-vent, or even a traditional Christmas pithiver. Meanwhile Maitre Andre shortcrust pastry (also available in chilled 4.2kg rolls) provides the perfect casing for everything from a succulent batch of mince pie, to a show-stopping Beef Wellington. Not only is Maitre Andre pastry guaranteed to give you a crisp and golden finish, their chilled puff and shortcrust pastry on the roll has a shelf-life of up to six weeks.

Chestnuts (whole and pureed)

Few of us may actually roast them over an open fire anymore, but for many the earthy scent and flavour of Chestnuts remains synonymous with Christmas. Whole chestnuts, whether simply tossed amongst the sprouts or candied to create marron glace, are a festive must-have, while chestnut puree (popularised by the French but first recorded in a Florentine cookbook from 1475) is a wonderfully versatile ingredient, one which works as well when giving a seasonal twist to a chocolate-log as it does when folded into stuffing for traditional game birds. Maws are pleased to provide whole chestnuts flame-hulled and vacuum packed by fruit and vegetable preserving specialists Ponthier, as well as canned purees available both sweetened and unsweetened.

Marzipan (by the block)

Another key Christmas ingredient, equally evocative of the season and equally versatile, must be marzipan, a sweet treat enjoyed in Europe since the Middle Ages. This simple confection of pasted sugar and almonds was once so prized it was often served coated in gold leaf, and could only be obtained from an apothecary. Today marzipan remains the ideal ingredient for fashioning petit-fours and essential for the under-laying the Christmas cake, but thankfully marzipan is no longer a luxury commodity beyond the reach of all but the nobility, as we’re glad to prove with our competitively priced 4kg and 5kg marzipan blocks.

Goose Fat, Duck Fat, Beef Dripping

More often than not the crucial ingredient within a dish is one that can barely be tasted even though its addition is the secret key to a recipe’s success. When applying this ethos to the quest for the perfectly roast potato; fluffy and steaming, and encased in crisp golden coats with crunchy edges. We don’t believe a much finer result can be achieved than when roasting with goose or duck fat, and Maws offer premium goose fat (available frozen or ambient) in 950g and 3.6kg quantities, and ambient Duck fat in the same weights, not to mention beef dripping for the other important faction of traditionalist.

Cranberries and Redcurrants

In terms of tradition, the cranberry may have begun as an accompaniment to the Thanksgiving turkey, but in recent decades it’s become a welcome addition to Christmas dinner tables everywhere. Whether you require cranberries frozen from fresh for sauces and jellies or dried for succulent stuffing mixes, Maws supply cranberries both in 1kg and 11kg weights, as well as 3kg tins redcurrant jelly, a Christmas accompaniment that’s equally at home with fowl or game.

Right now our shelves are stocked with dozens of pre-made ingredients full of the flavours that make the season special. So whether you’re making canapés or cakes, stuffing or soufflés, rely on Maws to provide the necessities at a scale and price that should deliver more than a little Christmas cheer.